The Morning Download: Buy the Concept, Not the Software

Good morning. Microsoft’s $1.2 billion acquisition of Yammer may be a validation of social networking in business, but it doesn’t mean CIOs should buy into Microsoft’s version of that application.

Enterprise social networks like those sold by Yammer, Jive Software, and IBM, are a way to co-opt the popularity of Facebook to foster collaboration and, ultimately, reveal knowledge employees don’t typically share explicitly. But these networks are successful only when they spring up organically. “It’s all governed by self-interest,” says Constellation Research analyst Ray Wang. Employees will use it if they see something in it for themselves — and not because management thinks it’s a good idea.